Young adult unemployment

The 'unemployment rate' is the proportion of the 'economically active'
population who are not working (i.e. the number who are unemployed divided
by the number who are either in paid work or unemployed, excluding those who
are 'economically inactive' from both the numerator and the denominator).

The unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds has risen sharply in the
current recession, from
15% in 2008 to 19% in 2009 and then to 20% in 2010. However, the rate had already been rising
for a number of years before the recession, from 12% in 2004 to 15% in 2008.
These rises have collectively more than offset the falls during the 1990s
and, as a result, the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in 2010 was actually higher than its previous peak in 1993.

Qualitatively, the unemployment rate for older workers (25 to
retirement) has followed a similar pattern: falling from the early 1990s to
the mid-2000s, then rising from 2004 to 2010, with a sharp rise between 2008
and 2009. Quantitatively, however, the falls from the early 1990s to
the mid-2000s were greater for older workers than for those aged 16 to 24.
As a result, the unemployment rate for older workers in 2010 was still lower than
that in the early 1990s.

Putting this point another way: the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds is now more than three times the rate
for older workers. By contrast, in the mid-1990s, it was 'just' twice the
rate for older workers.

As a result, two-fifths of all those who are unemployed are now aged
under 25.

Averaging across 2008 to 2010, the unemployment rate was higher for
young men than for young women: 20% compared with 15%. This contrasts with the situation
for those aged 25 to retirement, where the unemployment rates for men and
women are similar.

At 22%, the unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds is highest in
London.

The unemployment rate among young adults is significantly
higher than for adults over 25. As with other age groups, unemployment for young
people is a major cause of low income and deprivation.

From a health perspective, the mortality rates of
unemployed young men are higher than for the employed. Drever, F and Whitehead, M Health
inequalities, ONS, 1997, page 154. Among
the younger unemployed (ages 16-44) where men had a 58% and women a 69% excess.
There are also concerns about the connections between unemployment and suicide
rates, and there is evidence of a correlation between unemployment and the
incidence of major depressive illness. Weissman et al, (1991) cited in Rutter, M and Smith, D (eds) Psychosocial
disorders in young people, time trends and their causes, John Wily &
Sons, 1995, page 592.

The first graph shows the unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 24,
compared with those aged 25 and over (up to retirement). The second graph shows the same information but in terms of the actual
numbers unemployed. The data shown goes back to 1993 as 1993 was when
unemployment was at its peak in the recession of the early 1990s.

The third graph shows how
unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds varies by gender, with the equivalent
data for those aged 25 to retirement also shown. To improve its
statistical reliability, the data is the average for the latest three years.

The fourth graph shows how
unemployment rate for 16- to 24-year-olds varies by region. To improve its
statistical reliability, the data is the average for the latest three years.

'Unemployment' is the ILO definition, which is used for the official
government unemployment numbers. It comprises all those with no paid work in the survey week who were available to start work in the next
fortnight and who either looked for work in the last month or were waiting to
start a job already obtained.

The unemployment rate is the percentage of the economically active
population who are unemployed (i.e. the number who are unemployed divided by the
number who are either in paid work or unemployed).

The data source for all the graphs is the
Labour Force
Survey (LFS) and
the data relates to the United Kingdom (except for 1993 and 1994 in the first
graph, which are for Great Britain). The figures for each year are the average
for the four quarters of the relevant year.

Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The LFS is a large, well-established, quarterly government survey designed to be representative of the population as a whole.

Overall aim: Maximise employment opportunity for all.

Lead department

Department for Work and Pensions.

Official national targets

None.

Other indicators of progress

Overall employment rate taking account of the economic cycle.

Narrow the gap between the employment rates of the following
disadvantaged groups and the overall rate: disabled people; lone
parents; ethnic minorities; people aged 50 and over; those with no
qualifications; and those living in the most deprived Local Authority wards.

Number of people on working age out-of-work benefits.

Amount of time people spend on out-of-work benefits.

Previous 2004 targets

As part of the wider objective of full employment in every region, over
the three years to Spring 2008, and taking account of the economic
cycle, demonstrate progress on increasing the employment rate.